CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation SA and SABC News Anchors are calling on all South Africans to join them in “Having a Heart for Children with Cancer” on 15 February 2018. International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) is a global collaborative initiative to raise awareness of childhood cancer and to express support for children with cancer, survivors and their families.
Sadly, according to the Childhood Cancer International (CCI), childhood cancer continues to be the leading cause of non-communicable related death in children throughout the globe. Globally, more than 300,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year with about 1000 new cases in our country alone.
“In developed countries, childhood cancer has become largely curable with the overall survival rate reaching between 70% and 80%, whereas in South Africa the rate is approximately 55% partly due to lack of knowledge about the disease. CHOC aims to improve this rate by creating awareness of childhood cancer symptoms. Early detection of childhood cancer affords early diagnosis, enabling a better chance of being cured and increase in the survival rate,” Say Zelda Jacobs – CHOC Communications Manager.
In support of ICCD, CHOC is calling on schools, corporates and community groups to to wear blue with their trendy “have a heart for children with cancer badge or heart pin on 15 February. Blue pants, blue shirts, blue suits, blue dresses, blue ribbons, blue hearts, anything blue everywhere. It will all help in the effort to spread the message. One can also buy a loved one a delicious heart-shaped chocolate for Valentine’s Day.
According to the World Health Organisation, the incidence of childhood cancer globally is around 160,000 new cases each year. Fortunately, through the advances made in treatment, childhood cancer is largely curable. In developed countries like the US, UK and Japan, eight or nine out of ten kids survive to live productive and meaningful lives.
The survival rate in the UK, for . . .

10 February 2018 - THE DEAL: Jacques Magliolo, CEO of Magliolo Enterprises (which wholly-owns corporate advisory companies Business Consultants International (BCI) and BCI Venture Capital) today signed a business deal worth US$6 billion.
This is the largest single corporate deal signed by any independent South African corporate advisory company. The essence of the deal is to conduct due diligence and research on complex industries for the radical restructuring needed to place South African industry and markets at the top of the global map.
"We need to be more aggressive," says Magliolo. "Time to take our place in the corporate world." Far too many South African companies have failed in Africa and Australia.
The deal is still under confidentiality restrictions, but the essence is that a FUND has been established worth US$6 billion for the acquisition of part of complete stake in South African companies; any sector in any part of South Africa.
The deal states the following:
1. Your company must pass Due Diligence, based on International Best Practice research;
2. The directors of the company must take part of three half-day workshops on the expected potential operational and financial required restructuring needed to establish global competitiveness.
3. A valuation is drafted.
4. Depending on the company's requirements, a prospectus and/or a business plan may be required.
Once the above has been completed, a presentation will be made to the investment committee of BCI.
A decision will then be made, which covers the costs of:
1. Undertake restructuring;
2. List the Business on the JSE;
3. Acquire part or complete shareholding; and
4. costs of expansion, acquisition etc.
If you are interested and need capital, call Jacques Magliolo on 072 210 2139 or jacques@bci.za.com and he will call you back.
CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. . . .

For some reason or another there are certain days of the year that you always seem to remember. What about the 14th of February? Is it not a well-known date on your calendar?
It is the ‘month of love’, whether you like it or not. So why not make it easier for yourself? You can either go wild with your spending and regret it financially, OR, you can enjoy it while sticking to your budget and putting your mind (and finances) at ease instead.
Carla Oberholzer, spokesperson and public relations officer at Zeeva, encourages you to take caution when planning for this coming Valentine’s Day. “Over-spending on your monthly budget is not worth paying the price in the long run,” says Oberholzer.
Here are eight tips to consider when making last-minute plans:
1. Know exactly what your expected outcome for Valentine’s Day is
You can’t just ‘wing’ this love-filled day without a bit of planning. Know what you want to do, what it is going to cost you and get your estimates in line with your budget for this special day or activity.
2. There is nothing wrong with enjoying homemade meals
Surprise your loved one with an affordable breakfast in bed or create a scrumptious dinner dish with your partner, in the comfort of your own home. Visit Pinterest, BRIT + CO or the spruce for some fun and easy ideas.
3. Thinking about dining out?
Consider a nice, yet affordable restaurant option if you have saved for a meal. Take a look at EatOut, Food Blog Durban, Restaurants.co.za and Food Blog Cape Town for options.
4. Planning an outing? Use cash to avoid over-spending
If you have started your finances off on the right note and have saved some money for an affordable night on the town, be aware of the amount that you can spend and carry the amount in cash with you. This will assist you to stay within budget and not using your credit card at all.
5. Avoid buying treats at the store
Buying candy and chocolates can be very expensive, especially if you did not include it . . .

With above-inflation increases in expenditure reported by medical aids for this year, and consumers constantly under pressure from rising costs, the average South African is becoming increasingly savvy about value for money across all lines of household expenditure. This is one of the reasons why the day hospital concept makes business sense. Its offering is based on viability, accessibility and quality, meeting the practical and financial needs of both end-user and medical schemes. And from an operational perspective it achieves this while keeping costs low and maintaining efficiency.
Advanced Health’s operational focus is concentrated in three areas: patients, staff and doctors, and underpinning this is a business model which offers medical practitioners a shareholding in each day hospital with Advanced retaining the majority shareholding. These facilities are supported by an expert central team to ensure effective management, staffing and shared services such as information technology, marketing and administration. Properties are developed and owned by property developers, and tenure secured through a long-term lease agreement with subsidiaries of Advanced.
Allied to this the model focuses on business and staff management and is constantly exploring how to increase efficiencies through central services such as information technology and accounting.
The concept is globally proven and day hospitals, as the name suggests, are used solely for medical procedures that do not require overnight hospital stays. Thanks to this setup, the facilities have no need for ICU units, as we will not accept high-risk patients, or kitchens, both of which require significant operating budgets. As they do not run on a 24-hour basis, day hospitals manage to operate on reduced water and electricity costs and require no night staff.
The model offers several advantages to patients, such as personalised care thanks to a smaller environment, reduced risk of contracting . . .

STRATEGIC CONVERSATIONS: A two-day strategic dialogue on issues and challenges faced by the community of Helenvale was hosted by the Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) in Port Elizabeth this week.
MBDA think-tank explores the future of Helenvale
Port Elizabeth, 7 February 2018 – Debating future strategies to curb gangsterism, reduce crime and enhance positive development in challenges neighbourhoods and communities was a key objective of the ‘Mandela Bay Think Tank Dialogue’ a multi-disciplinary stakeholder session hosted by the Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) from Monday 5th till Tuesday 6th.
The think-tank, aimed at exploring alternative approaches to development in volatile and fragile communities, brought together specialists and community members from around the country to discuss and debate some of the core issues affecting life and development in similar areas. Helenvale is currently the focus of the 5 million Euro German KfW Bank funded Safety and Peace through Urban Upgrading (SPUU).
Crime, gangsterism, youth, education, a lack of social cohesion, identity dynamics, a lack of recreational facilities, the role of the shadow economy and the influence of urban design all emerged as important areas of concern during the full-day discussions.
“There is a need for dialogue, a sharing of ideas and a disruption of the current systems. We need to break the generational trauma experienced by the people of Helenvale and move towards healing and inclusive development,” MBDA Board Chairperson Phil Goduka said.
Adopting a scenario planning approach to the think-tank, participants engaged in robust discussions and debates around some of the core challenges and issues facing an area popularly nicknamed ‘Katanga’ after the war-torn province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Prof Theodore Petrus, Research Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Forte Hare highlighted coloured identity dynamics and a ‘culture of . . .

https://youtu.be/YgqF0JIAc1U
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Author : Coindesk : Alyssa Hertig.
Who Created Ethereum? In 2008, an unknown developer (or developer group) invented bitcoin as a new way to send value over the internet. Four years later, a 19-year-old dreamed up a new platform based off of this innovation in an effort to transform the internet entirely. Vitalik Buterin, a programmer from Toronto, first grew interested in bitcoin in 2011. He co-founded the online news website Bitcoin Magazine in the same year, writing hundreds of articles at https://bitcoinmagazine.com/authors/vitalik-buterin on the crypto currency world. He went on to code for the privacy-minded Dark Wallet and the marketplace Egora. Along the way, he came up with the idea of a platform that would go beyond the financial use cases allowed by bitcoin. He released a white paper in 2013 describing an alternative platform designed for any type of decentralized application developers would want to build. The system was called Ethereum. Ethereum makes it easy to create smart contracts, self-enforcing code that developers can tap for a range of applications. For his work, Buterin was named a 2014 Thiel fellow at https://www.coindesk.com/peter-thiel-fellowship-ethereum-vitalik-buterin/ a contest that awards winners $100,000. Growing community. After Buterin unveiled the Ethereum white paper, other developers joined . . .

Art by Santiago Ribeiro on display at Times Square in New York heads to Coimbra, Portugal
By FIN Staff / 5 February 2018
NEW YORK – Following the multimedia exhibition of Santiago Ribeiro’s art in Times Square, it will now head to the ‘International Surrealism Now’ exhibition in Coimbra, Portugal, having also been featured in Paris at the “Osmosis-Kiraméki Transfigured!” event along with cultural icons and renowned artists.
Portuguese surrealist painter Santiago Ribeiro has been featured since July 2017 at the Thomson Reuters and Nasdaq OMX Group at Times Square in New York City, and will remain highlighted throughout 2018.
“As usual, every time, I do something different and innovative and the idea of ??exhibiting in Times Square, New York, shows how media and new technologies are a modern way to divulge our art.” – Santiago Ribeiro.
Born in Coimbra, Portugal, Ribeiro attended art classes at Escola Avelar Brotero and the Escola Superior de l’Education in Coimbra.
He has organized and participated in numerous individual and collective art exhibitions in Portugal and abroad. Ribeiro’s work has been featured at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, in the Portuguese American Journal, in Digital Meets Culture, Pressenza France, MetroNews.ru, Pravda in Portuguese, The Herald News, Associated Press and many other publications.
His work will be shown daily at different intervals throughout the year. Based on dreams and visions, Ribeiro’s metaphorical surreal imagery surprises, breaks and triggers mixed feelings. His paintings have been described as, “complex compositions illustrating profound concerns about modern society and its individual and collective behavior.”
Its sponsors include the Bissaya Barreto Foundation, Câmara de Coimbra and the North American MagicCraftsman studio.
His work is represented in several private collections as well as in the contemporary art collection of the Machado de Castro National Museum and at the Bissaya Barreto . . .

Otis South Africa has appointed Nicolas Branly to the position of Service Director, reporting to the MD: Otis Africa, Daniel Daphne.
Branly, who joined Otis France as Field Supervisor in 2009, holds a Bachelors’ Degree in Applied Economics from the University of Paris Dauphine, and MS Mechanical Engineering and Production Systems from Ecole Centrale Paris. He has served in various positions within the organisation throughout his tenure including Project Manager (Mordernisation of Major Projects); Key Accounts Manager; Field Manager: Maintenance and Repair and Senior Manager Branch Services.
His new role will see Nicolas driving performance and growth in service, maintenance, modernisation and repairs. All South African branches, Modernisation Department and Service operations will report to him.
Daniel Daphne MD of Otis Africa says, “As the world’s largest people mover, we don’t only believe in moving machines but also in moving towards achieving career ambitions. We are particularly proud of this appointment as Nicolas brings with him knowledge, expertise and experience to bolster relationships with our clients and strengthen our position as professional service providers”.
CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. . . .

While driverless cars steal the “visionary” media headlines, other technologies are already having a profound impact on South Africa’s roads...
The technology boom is changing many aspects of life, from how we socialise and share news through to how we drive. In fact, while the concept of driverless cars is gaining considerable traction relating to their impact for future use, existing technologies are already changing the way we think about driving, notes Cartrack South Africa CEO, Andre Ittmann.
“South Africa has a high road accident rate and our country’s roads are heavily used by commercial vehicles of all types, which results in driver management becoming an onerous and expensive exercise, with high-risk levels for commercial fleets. However, new technologies are helping companies of all sizes to manage these risks, while simultaneously dramatically improving driver performance.”
An example of these technologies is Cartrack’s new product, Live Vision, a flexible, comprehensive and easy-to-use four-camera vehicle video system, that keeps fleet owners in visual contact with their fleets through video event recording and transmission technology offering local and cross border coverage.
Through access to real-time footage and tracking tools of vehicle and driver performance on the road, this sophisticated system aids the improvement of driving skills, controls costs and offers protection against legal liability.
Footage is instantly accessible instantly via an app or web interface and is also archived for later use if necessary sophisticated system aids the improvement of driving skills, controls costs and offers protection against legal liability.
Crucially, as fleet managers enjoy access to a clear video record of an accident and other events, legal confusion and costs are simplified and eliminated in some cases.
“The technology allows for better productivity from a vehicle, ensuring that this asset is used to its maximum capacity,” says . . .

February is traditionally the month of love but with those not under the spell of the legendary saint, Valentine’s Day can be a lonely time, with some setting themselves up as possible targets quite unknowingly in their quest for romantic attention.
While the Internet houses a large number of dating sites that may well serve their purpose there are many that abound with romance scams.
In the United States this type of scamming has caught the attention of the FBI which has a dedicated unit to address what it estimates to have cost in losses to the victims, more than $230 million in 2016.
In South Africa there has been a significant growth in this type of scam due to the proliferation of social media sites, not necessarily those set up for dating, says Manie Van Schalkwyk, head of the South African Fraud Prevention Service.
“Scammers typically seek out individuals who are older than 50, either single or in difficult relationships, who are looking for romance,” he says.
….“Most victims are tech-savvy and targeted by criminal syndicates from anywhere in the world. It’s not hard for these people to target the emotionally vulnerable as people reveal much about themselves on social media sites,” he says.
The scammer entices a prospective date with endearing messages that make the victim feel loved. This is the technique that inspires trust and leads the perpetrator to ask for a gift or money, or a favour of some kind. In many situations the person will promise a meeting, but this never materialises.
“Be very careful about how much personal information you share on social network sites, particularly photographs and videos as you may be setting yourself up as a target for a fraudster” “Rather be safe than sorry, he says.
But it’s not only the lonely who fall victim to scams; the vulnerable, the greedy and even the innocent are all victims of a range of online scams, he adds
Financial journalist at www.mayaonmoney.co.za Maya Fisher-French, says she . . .

Featured Press Releases

Johannesburg, South Africa --February 2018
4% of employees agree blocking out noise increases their productivity.(1)
Today, work happens everywhere — in busy open-plan offices and contact centers, at home, even coffee shops. This flexibility is great for business and people, but with it comes a new challenge: noise. Distraction caused by noise reduces productivity and well-being and, in contact centers, detracts from a positive customer experience.
Studies show that it takes 23 minutes to recover from distraction(3) and over 58% of employees are distracted multiple times each day.(2) That represents a significant impact on your . . .

Art by Santiago Ribeiro on display at Times Square in New York heads to Coimbra, Portugal
By FIN Staff / 5 February 2018
NEW YORK – Following the multimedia exhibition of Santiago Ribeiro’s art in Times Square, it will now head to the ‘International Surrealism Now’ exhibition in Coimbra, Portugal, having also been featured in Paris at the “Osmosis-Kiraméki Transfigured!” event along with cultural icons and renowned artists.
Portuguese surrealist painter Santiago Ribeiro has been featured since July 2017 at the Thomson Reuters and Nasdaq OMX Group at Times Square in New York City, and will remain highlighted throughout . . .

The Matt Brown Show, in association with CNBC Africa and social trading platform, Etoro, flew the wildly successful cryptocurrency trader, Luke Martin, AKA Venture Coinist, from the United States to take part in the show’s sixth live (and sold-out) cryptocurrency podcast.
The Matt Brown Show has built a listenership and captive audience in over 100 countries around the world. #CryptoJHB was the first podcast event to trend in the #1 hashtag position on Twitter in the history of South African media.
CNBC Africa broadcasted a section of The Matt Brown Show, through their programme #CryptoTrader, Hosted by Ran Neu-Ner. The Matt Brown Show . . .

GAUTENG, MIDRAND- Attracting close to three thousand athletes, and a couple thousand onlookers, the 2018 season opener of the hugely popular obstacle course racing (OCR) series, the Toyota WARRIOR Series, powered by Reebok, was off to the perfect start this past weekend at Riversands Country Farm in Johannesburg.
The OCR Toyota WARRIOR series is designed for adventure seekers from all walks of life, and, with no barrier to entry, makes obstacle course racing (OCR) accessible to anyone with a pair of trainers, t-shirt and shorts.
Course designer, Jono Hart, says Toyota WARRIOR 2018 will be the best year yet for OCR. “I build these . . .

Excitement as Global Startup Grind Chapter is established in Port Elizabeth
Startup and entrepreneurial businesses are characterised by high energy, high hopes and high expectations.
Port Elizabeth offers many advantages to these businesses - central location, institutional and private support, easy and quick accessibility within the city, a can-do mindset and friendly people willing to freely share insider knowledge and advice.
Start up businesses in Port Elizabeth have access to many different flavours of entrepreneurial support to assist them to go from Startup to global player.
What is lacking however is a forum in which these . . .